Bedtime Stories
by Kypriotha
Summary: Aly bribes Petranne and Elsren to be good with bedtime stories of the Lioness. Written for Valafatoren for Fief Goldenlake's International Exchange (Silver Prompt: Aly tells stories of the Lioness to Petranne and Elsren).


It is on one of Aly's regular nightly patrols of Tanair Castle that she hears the thuds and muffled shouts coming from the nursery where Petranne and Elsren sleep. Moving quickly and quietly, she is inside the door in only seconds, two of her forbidden knives already in her hands.

Knives which she, a slave, shouldn't have and which are quickly sheathed as she took in the scene before her.

A scene that is not, as Aly's finely tuned spy skills had first told her, one of attempted kidnap or assassination, but of regular bed time mayhem. The two younger Balitang children were quite active and boisterous and kept their poor nursemaids at their wits' ends, especially when it was bed time and they decided most emphatically that they did _not_ want to go to bed!

Slipping her knives back into their sheaths as quickly and subtly as she had unsheathed them, Aly ambles over to Petranne's bed and puts her hands on her hips to mock glare at the girl as she jumps all over the bed, resisting her nursemaid's attempts to put a nightgown on her.

"Is this how one gets ready for bed in the Copper Islands?" Aly asks Petranne. "It sure is different from how we do things back in Tortall."

Petranne stops bouncing long enough to give Aly the loftiest glare her young face can manage. "I. Don't. Want. To. Go. To. Bed!" she says succinctly, before bouncing adeptly out of her nursemaid's reach.

Aly sighs and slips her hands into the folds of her robes. "That's a shame. I have a quiet evening and was hoping to spend some time telling stories to some deserving children, but unfortunately all my best stories are bed time stories and can't be told before any one is in bed."

Smiling one at Petranne, Aly turns and heads for the door (slower than her usual pace, but not so slow it will be noticed by the two young heathens). She almost reaches it when she is stopped by a small wail.

"Wait!" Elsren comes barrelling over and wraps his arms around her legs. He appears to only be half dressed, but peers up at her with an adorable smile. "I like stories. Will you tell me a story?"

Aly pretends to be stern. "I can only tell you a story once you're in bed."

Elsren immediately lets go of her legs and dives head first into his bed. "Ready!"

"No, no," Aly shakes her head. "You can't just be in bed, you have to be all ready for bed too. Let your nursemaid help you and _then_ I'll tell you a story!"

"Will it be about the Lioness?" Elsren wants to know.

Aly sees Petranne, who was previously pretending to ignore them, look interested at that (though she is still sans nightgown). Aly smiles. "Maybe."

Elsren is ready for bed in record time and waiting with an expectant grin on his chubby face as it pokes out over the bed clothes. Aly settles herself on the floor next to him. She gives Petranne a quick once over and, assessing that she is now nightgowned, but still not actually _in_ bed, she turns her back on her slightly and leans towards Elsren with a conspiratorial wink.

"Many years ago, there lived a young girl and a young boy. They were twins and they lived in a stone castle far to the north of the lively kingdom of Tortall." Aly's voice is barely above a whisper and, although Elsren can hear every word, Petranne's frown indicates that she is not so lucky.

"That's not fair!" Petranne screeches. "I want to hear the story too!"

Aly straightens up slowly and levels a no nonsense look in Petranne's direction. "Elsren is ready for bed, so he gets a bed time story. If you want a bed time story, you have to be in bed too."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Petranne, possibly attempting to beat Elsren's record, is soon also tucked up in bed. Both nursemaids retreat to their sitting area in the corner of the room with a sigh of relief, leaving their charges in Aly's thrall.

"Well," Aly clears her throat and shifts backwards, so she is more equally between the beds. "As I was saying, there was a twin boy and a twin girl. The boy wanted to be a powerful sorcerer and the girl wanted to be a famous knight, so one day, they switched places and set out on an adventure."

...

On other quiet nights after that first one, Aly can sometimes be found in the nursery, telling the younger Balitang children stories of her mother and her numerous other relatives, stories of page training and dark cities, quests and battles, legendary jewels and evil sorcerers.

She doesn't come every night, mind you. She says the children must be good and get ready for bed without her and then, only then, will she tell continue the story.

The children quickly develop favourites. Petranne likes to hear about the Dominion Jewel and the Roof of the World, whereas Elsren like to hear about George and his Court of the Rogue.

Some nights they are joined by the older Balitang children. They sit quietly to one side, sometimes embroidering, sometimes empty hands clasped and eyes wide. They have favourite stories too. Sarai likes to hear about Prince Jonathon and the Court. Dove likes to hear about the desert and the Bazhir. But mostly they let the younger ones make the requests, or let Aly choose her own story to tell, and just sit and listen to the stories of the woman they would like to meet, from the land they would like to visit.


End file.
